This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Wednesday, 23 December 2009

The Supplication of Yunus (a.s.)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is adapted from a swuhbah by Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.).

Allah (s.w.t.)
with His Karam, Generosity, Put us is
the ummah of the Prophet (s.a.w.). It is Ummat
al-Marhumah, the ummah Blessed
with Allah’s Mercy (s.w.t.) and Ummat al-Maghfurah, an ummah that Allah (s.w.t.) has Forgiven. In
order that Allah (s.w.t.) Forgives us
from our sins, He Mentioned to us through His beloved Prophet (s.a.w.) to read from Holy Qur’an.

They compile statistics for publishing houses. They compile the statistics to see how many people
have read different books and which of them has the highest readership. The ones with highest percentage of readership
become best sellers. There is not a
single book in the whole world that if we were to read it, we would be given
money. There is only one book, that if we
read it, we get wealth in dunya and akhirah. And not only that, Allah (s.w.t.) will be Pleased with us because you reading His Divine Words.
They are the Holy Qur’an and ahadits of the Prophet (s.a.w.). Is there any other book that can do that
other than Holy Qur'an and ahadits of
the Prophet (s.a.w.)? Why then is the Holy Qur'an left on shelves?

If one does not know Arabic, he can at least look at the
pages. One has only to open the page,
put his finger at the first ayah and
keep moving along the lines. If we do not
know how to read, we must try to learn. Allah
(s.w.t.) will Reward us from His
Greatness that has no beginning and no end.

O mankind! There hath come to you an Admonition from your
Lord and a Healing for the (diseases) in your hearts and for those who believe,
a Guidance and a Mercy. (Surah Yunus:57)

On every letter of the Holy Qur’an, there are Allah’s (s.w.t.) Rewards; not only on every word,
but on every letter that we recite. Every
letter is Divine and has Rewards. For
reading even one letter, Allah (s.w.t.)
will Reward us as He said:

We Send down (stage by
stage) in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who
believe... (Surah al-Isra’:82)

Allah (s.w.t.) Sent
Yunus (a.s.) to 100,000 people to
call them to Him. He called and called but they did not listen to him and so he
ran away, seeking solitude in Allah (s.w.t.).
What happened to him? Allah (s.w.t.)
Taught him a lesson and Ordered the fish to swallow him. What did Yunus (a.s.) do? In Jami' at-Tirmidzi and Swahih al-Hakim, Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqasw (r.a.) said that
Yunus (a.s.) used to make a du`a in the belly of the creature:

And remember Dzu an-Nun,
when he departed in Wrath: he imagined that We had no Power over him! But he cried through the depths of darkness,
"There is no god but Thou: Glory to Thee: I was indeed wrong!" (Surah
al-Anbiya':87)

Yunus (a.s.) was
an oppressor to himself because he ran away and did not continue in his efforts
to deliver the Message. So what did the
Prophet (s.a.w.) say? He said, “In anything that you ask, in illness
or need, or anything at all, if you recite that verse, Allah will Respond to
you and Answer you.” But Yunus (a.s.) did not say it only once. He said it continuously on his breathing in and
breathing out, until Allah’s (s.w.t.)
Test was done and the fish threw him out.

Is there any book other than Holy Qur'an that if we recite
or read from, the Prophet (s.a.w.)
will say if we ask Allah (s.w.t.)
through it, like that, we get Acceptance or Reward? The Holy Qur'an is the book where we are Rewarded
for reading every time and in each reading, Rewarded in a different manner. For example, if we read Surah al-Baqarah from beginning
to end, we will be Reward, and if we read it the next day, the Reward will not be
the same as the first reading. Each time
we read the same surah, there is
different Reward and a different tajalli
upon us.

That is why some swahabah
used to read the whole Holy Qur'an in one day, including the night. It takes twenty minutes to read one juz, so thirty juz can be finished in six-hundred minutes, which is ten hours. There are some people who do not stop; they read
continuously. Those who have memorised
and recite Holy Qur'an, have principles in reciting the Holy Qur'an and every
day they have to recite five ajza’ to
keep refreshing their memory.

The Prophet (s.a.w.)
asked the swahabah, “Do you want me
to teach you the greatest supplication to Allah? It is the du`a
of Yunus.”

One man asked, “Is that private to Yunus?”

And the Prophet (s.a.w.)
said, “Did you not hear Allah's Word?”

So We Listened to him: and
Delivered him from distress: and thus do We Deliver those who have faith.
(Surah al-Anbiya':88)

So if we read the Holy Qur’an it will save us, and any mu’min who recites this verse during his
illness from which he dies, if he recited it forty times then he will die as a shahid.
People were running to die as shahid,
martyrs, in the time of the Prophet (s.a.w.).
And then Allah (s.w.t.) gave us this our benefit. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “Whosoever recites this verse forty times and dies on
his bed, he will be given the reward of a shahid!
And if he didn’t die, he will be Cured
and he will be Forgiven.”

2 comments:

This sounds like an extension of the concept of Taqiyya - deception and lying, particularly used in treaties, to allow re-arming and giving time to get stronger. Then when it suits, to break the treaty and defeat the opposition.

I never understand this fascination with taqiyya. That is not mainstream Islam. Within the Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Juma'ah, taqiyya is practiced when the life of the believer is endangered. For example, to admit you are a Muslim would mean death.

Although there is a hadith in which the Prophet (s.a.w.) said that war is deception at the Battle of Khandaq, no outright lies were told. It was all half-truths and innuendo.

The concept of telling the truth is so strong that on the Day of Judgement, the Siddiqin (those who tell the truth) are amongst those sheltered by the Throne of Allah.

In Surah al-'Asr (103), which speaks of the qualities of those who are saved, the ones who affirm the Haqq (Ultimate Truth) is in the last line. If you cannot tell the small truths, how can you tell the Big One?

With regards to treaties, the Prophet kept the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah even though the strength of Madina was waxing whilst the Quraysh in Makka were waning. This, even though the treaty was unfair, insulting and disadvantageous. It was the Quraysh that broke the Treaty.

I regret the kinds of Muslims you have met or the portrayal of Muslims you are exposed to. However, please do not confuse us with the Wahabbi / Salafi scum or any of the deviant groups. We are people of the Path, the Lovers of the ahl as-Safa (the Sufis).